What is the best zero-sugar soda?

Cola loyalists, root beer diehards and citrus drinkers each think their pick is the obvious one. Whatever wins here has to get past all three.

1. 1
   Coca-Cola Zero Sugar

   Coke's sugar-free cola, reformulated to taste as close as possible to the original red-can recipe.
2. 2
   Pepsi Zero Sugar

   PepsiCo's bolder, citrus-forward zero-calorie cola, sweetened with aspartame and ace-K.
3. 3
   Diet Coke

   The 1982 original of the category, with its own lighter flavor profile rather than a copy of Coca-Cola.
4. 4
   Diet Pepsi

   Pepsi's long-running diet cola, lighter and crisper than its zero-sugar sibling.
5. 5
   Dr Pepper Zero Sugar

   The 23-flavor blend without the sugar, widely praised for tracking the original closely.
6. 6
   Diet Dr Pepper

   The older diet version of Dr Pepper, marketed for years on tasting more like regular than diet.
7. 7
   Sprite Zero Sugar

   Caffeine-free lemon-lime soda with no sugar, the top seller in the diet citrus aisle.
8. 8
   7UP Zero Sugar

   Keurig Dr Pepper's sugar-free lemon-lime soda, often rated the least artificial-tasting diet citrus.
9. 9
   Mountain Dew Zero Sugar

   The neon citrus soda without sugar, keeping the caffeine and the full-strength flavor.
10. 10
    Diet Mountain Dew

    A cult favorite with a distinctly different bite from both regular Dew and the Zero Sugar version.
11. 11
    A&W Zero Sugar Root Beer

    Creamy sugar-free root beer that regularly wins diet soda taste tests.
12. 12
    Barq's Zero Sugar Root Beer

    The caffeine-free sugar-free version of the root beer known for its sharp bite.
13. 13
    Fanta Zero Sugar Orange

    Sugar-free orange soda with the same bright, candy-sweet profile as the original.
14. 14
    Sunkist Zero Sugar Orange

    Caffeinated orange soda without sugar, praised for a fresher citrus taste than most diet oranges.
15. 15
    Canada Dry Zero Sugar Ginger Ale

    Sugar-free ginger ale that keeps the dry, gingery finish of the original mixer.
16. 16
    Starry Zero Sugar

    Pepsi's newer lemon-lime brand in its sugar-free version, launched alongside Starry in 2023.
17. 17
    Zevia Cola

    Stevia-sweetened cola with no artificial sweeteners, the flagship of the natural zero-sugar shelf.
18. 18
    Diet Rite Cola

    The original sugar-free cola from 1958, still sold caffeine-free and sodium-free.

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